Commission: New Orleans French Quarter, 1872

[LizardInk]

thank you, everyone! It's such a relief to hear your feedback, given how long and difficult this project was. I appreciate it so much!

[Kellerica]

Wow, this is really something else, Liz.

I can only imagine how much effort you've put into this, but it really shows. The map is absolutely beautiful (nice job on the perspective, it came out so well!) and the border and title box compliment it nicely, and it looks fantastic in the finished product. Just really, really amazing work on this, you have every reason to be proud of yourself!

[Voolf]

Outstanding map LizardInk. Really love the style and the variety of buildings really adds to the whole map. Can't rep sorry

[Pomb]

Really cool map LizardInk, I especially like the ornamentation, I appreciate its twirliness.
Do you have any tips to share on how to tackle ornamentation? I can imagine banners well enough, but french ornamentation and floral embellishments in general make me think it might be easier to just do it in 3d and draw over renders or something.

[LizardInk]

Really cool map LizardInk, I especially like the ornamentation, I appreciate its twirliness.
Do you have any tips to share on how to tackle ornamentation? I can imagine banners well enough, but french ornamentation and floral embellishments in general make me think it might be easier to just do it in 3d and draw over renders or something.

One word: references!! References help A LOT. Yet most artists I know (myself included) so often forget to use them. The frame on this one was inspired by the wrought iron seen on many French Quarter balconies. I started with a collection of photographs of balconies, which I kept by my canvas, so I was continually glancing at them while I worked. I sketched very loose shapes, and then inked in the finished, detailed lines. I would think renders would take a lot more time, honestly. Putting together a good mood board of photos and designs goes a long way (as does Procreate's symmetry feature..!!!)

Also: One thing I like to do, especially when drawing castles, is to cut up photos of other castles into individual pieces, like towers, walls, and halls, then piece them together into new shapes and buildings, which I use as references for my drawings. The same concept would easily work for ornamentation. Cut out some railings, corbels, other architectural or design elements, and then rearrange them like a collage until you come up with a new, unique sort of shape that you can then reference.

Of course if you're really handy at renders (which I'm not!) I'm sure that's also a totally useful approach!

[bkh1914]

An outstanding map.
I love how clean and crisp the buildings are.
And the changing perspective as you move away from the map's center.

[LizardInk]

An outstanding map.
I love how clean and crisp the buildings are.
And the changing perspective as you move away from the map's center.

Oh, thank you for noticing the perspective shift! It was one of the hardest tricks to pull off, and there were times I wondered if anyone would even care....! Haha.

[arsheesh]

Really lovely work on this one Lizardink!

Cheers,
-Arsheesh

[Ilanthar]

Great map! The frame is splendid and the details are spectacular.